AccessAir

Ghost Corp Apparel — resurrecting iconic corporate ghosts.

AccessAir, Inc. was a Des Moines, Iowa, low-fare startup built to give smaller Midwestern markets a sharper route to the coasts. Scheduled service began on February 3, 1999, using Boeing 737-200s; its identifiers were IATA ZA, ICAO CYD, and the callsign CYCLONE.

From its Des Moines center, AccessAir connected passengers with Los Angeles and New York’s LaGuardia Airport, while its network also touched Peoria and Moline/Quad Cities, Illinois, and Colorado Springs, Colorado. The pitch was affordable big-city access without requiring passengers to swear fealty to a giant hub.

Reality filed a flight plan of its own. AccessAir halted operations and entered Chapter 11 on November 29, 1999. Des Moines businessman John Ruan III supplied capital for a comeback, and the airline resumed scheduled flights in November 2000, chiefly linking Des Moines and Chicago Midway. Low loads and financial strain remained stubborn co-pilots; AccessAir ended operations for good on February 27, 2001. Its bankruptcy was converted to Chapter 7 that May.

Our AccessAir collection celebrates the valiant little airline that tried to put Des Moines on a more direct map—red stripe, shiny 737, CYCLONE call sign, and all.